Toy box notes: Callaway octane driver in play

Callaway already has introduced an Octane line of metalwoods, and Ernie Els won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf with an Octane Tour driver.

Callaway, however, hasn’t talked at all about a new line of metalwoods and irons.

At Golfweek’s Industry Cup tournament, played Oct. 23-24 at Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif., two members of the winning Callaway team carried a Razr Hawk driver and Razr X irons (a set of forged Razr X irons and a set of cast Razr X Tour irons).

• • •

New Pro V versions on Tour: New versions of the popular Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls were put into play at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Webb Simpson has used the Pro V1x prototype in three events, finishing T-12, T-44 and T-4c.

“It cut through the wind better,” Simpson said. “I spun it a little more . . . I’m not the best to tell the difference between golf balls, but I could tell the difference in this one.”

PGA Tour pro Graham DeLaet: “It seems longer. Off the tee, I noticed a couple of times where it seems I kind of missed it and it flew 310 . . . it definitely seems to be going farther.”

Hunter Mahan: “It’s certainly doing what I want it to do, which is go a little higher.”

Since the introduction to the public of the Pro V1 family in 2001, Titleist has been regularly tweaking and updating the Pro V1 and Pro V1x. Every two years (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009) new variations have been introduced to touring pro and consumers.

Titleist officially will introduce its new golf balls at the PGA Merchandise Show, Jan. 27-29 in Orlando, Fla.

Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that Nike will introduce a radically different ball in January. Prototypes have been seen with the sidestamp “Tour RZN,” although Nike officials have declined comment.

Not many touring pros use the same shaft in a driver and 3-wood, but Byrd does. His choice: UST Mamiya Pro Force V2 86X.

• • •

Short shots: Word from the TaylorMade tour van is that John Daly, who is not a TaylorMade staffer, came to the van to have all of his irons and wedges ground. He said that he had changed his swing plane, and he was seeking a straighter leading edge and more bounce to prevent any digging. . . .

• TaylorMade will showcase a new family of metalwoods and three distinct models of forged irons at the PGA Merchandise Show. . . .

• Although most hybrids are outfitted with graphite shafts, some players prefer steel to make the hybrids feel more like irons. Count Pat Perez among the steelies. At Vegas, Perez had two TaylorMade Rescues built with KBS Tour steel shafts.

TaylorMade R15 fairway woods

Harkening back to the shape of the original Rescue club, the new R15 Rescue has a smaller “peanut” head shape (99cc), commonly preferred by tour staff professionals and amateurs who want to shape shots.